Holy Thursday (Maundy Thursday) | 2020
The Last Supper, Juan de Juanes, 1562, Museo del Prado, Madrid. April 9, 2020 On Holy Thursday, the Mass of Chrism is celebrated by the diocesan Bishop with his priests as concelebrants. Together they renew their priestly vows, manifesting the communion and unity of faith between the priests and their prelate. Thursday evening, the Mass of the Lord’s Supper is offered, which duly celebrates the Last Supper of Jesus and His apostles on the night He was betrayed. At the Mass, the priest washes the feet of twelve individuals, just as Jesus did to give the apostles an example of priestly service. Holy Thursday is indeed an inextricable part of the salvific event of worship that is the Triduum as Msgr. Bernard Bourgeois explains: "Holy Thursday is sometimes lost among the more popular feasts of Good Friday and of course Easter itself. The Sacred Triduum begins with the Mass of Holy Thursday evening. The opening procession, much like any Sunday opening procession, includes